Managing & renaming D&R Airlite Playback devices (channel faders) in Windows
In this series of articles you’ll find step-by-step tutorials to get the most out of your D&R Airlite broadcasting mixer console.
In the previous article you’ve learned how to connect the Airlite’s VoIP USB port to your computer and how to manage the VoIP playback and recording device in Windows.
In this article you’ll learn how to connect the Airlite’s Main USB port to your computer and about the Playback devices that send audio from your playout software to the different channels/faders on the Airlite.
Series contents
- Introduction: Getting the most out of your D&R Airlite broadcasting mixer console.
- Connecting the D&R Airlite VoIP USB port to your computer and managing audio devices in Windows.
- Managing & renaming D&R Airlite Playback devices (channel faders) in Windows (this article).
- Managing & renaming D&R Airlite Recording devices (audio busses) in Windows.
- Installing D&R Airlite Control for communication between software and Airlite.
- Installing and using D&R Airlite Configuration Manager to configure Airlite settings.
- Installing and using D&R Airlite Meters to monitor output levels and settings (planned for November 5th).
Video Summary
D&R has created a video with an in-depth explanation:
D&R USB codec channel configuration for a Airlite, Airence or Airlab — YouTube
Introduction to Playback devices
Upon connecting the Airlite’s main USB port to your computer, 4 playback devices are added to Windows:
- One device that sends audio to channel 4 on the Airlite;
- One device that sends audio to channel 5 on the Airlite;
- One device that sends audio to channel 6 on the Airlite;
- One device that sends audio to channel 7 on the Airlite.
There are also 4 recording devices added to Windows. Those do no correspond to a specific fader. You’ll learn more about the recording devices in the next article.
Connecting the USB Main port to your computer
If you’ve followed along with the tutorials, you’ve already connected the VoIP USB port. Now it’s time to connect the Main USB port.
Restoring the default Playback Device to AIRLITE CHANNEL 8
Connecting new devices might change the default playback and default communication device. If that happens, change it back to ‘AIRLITE CHANNEL 8’ by right-clicking and selecting ‘Set as default (communication) device’:
Playback Device naming issues
The main port adds 4 playback devices to Windows. Each device sends audio to one of the channels 4 through 7 on the Airlite. Those are dual-input channels, allowing you to switch between line-in and USB-in using the switch at the top of the channel.
The devices are added to Windows in a random order. The first channel that gets added shows as ‘USB AUDIO CODEC’. The next channel is ‘2- USB AUDIO CODEC’ then ‘3- USB AUDIO CODEC’ and ‘4- USB AUDIO CODEC. It’s important to understand that those numbers do not match the channel numbers on the Airlite and easily change eg. when connecting the cable to another USB-port on your computer. Should you later switch to another USB-port, new unique numbers are assigned (5- USB AUDIO CODEC and higher) as you can see in the following screenshot.
These non-descriptive, random names/numbers make it hard to map your playout software’s player to specific channels. To solve this, we’ll rename each device to match the name of the Airlite channel it corresponds to by testing and renaming the Windows devices.
Testing Playback Devices
To test the channel/device mapping follow the numbered steps below. Applicable step numbers correspond to the numbers on the screenshot below, so you’ll know where to look.
- Connect a CRM or headphones to the Airlite;
- If you’re using active speakers, make sure they’re powered on and unmuted;
- Open the ‘CRM’ or ‘Phones’ volume on the Airlite (not too far).
- Open the Gain for channel 4 through 7 midway (12 o’clock);
- Set channel 4 through 7 to USB (the ‘input switch’ light must be red);
- Press ‘Cue reset’ to make sure audio is sent to CRM/headphones;
- Open faders 4 through 7;
- Turn on channels 4 through 7 (the ’on switch’ light must be green);
Now we’ll have Windows send a test tone to one Airlite channel. To do this, right-click the first device in the list and select ‘Test’.
This will send two short tones to the channel. If everything works well, you’ll first see the left master meter spiking, then the right master meter spiking. You should be able to hear the tones on your headphones and/or CRM. If everything works, skip the next troubleshooting section and scroll down to continue from ‘I Did hear the test sounds’.
I Didn’t hear the test sounds or didn’t see the master meters spiking
Not to worry, you can troubleshoot using the following steps:
- Check Windows that the Windows volume is set to 100% and not muted;
- Check that the ‘Line/USB-switch’ is pressed down, and red lit (see step 5 above);
- Check that the faders for channels 4, 5, 6 and 7 are completely up (at ‘0’);
- Press the ‘On’ switch (see step 8 above) again for channels 4, 5, 6 and 7 so it changes color.
Now test again. Still can’t see the master meter lighting up? Than perhaps the ‘Cue feature’ is enabled:
- Press ‘Cue reset’ (step 6) again to disable all Cue features.
Test again. See the master meter lighting up but still no sound? That might be a volume issue:
- Check your speakers: Are they on? Do they have a volume knob or a mute button?;
- Turn up the ‘Phones’ and ‘CRM’ volumes (step 3);
- Turn up the channel gain (step 4) for channels 4, 5, 6 and 7.
I Did hear the test sounds
Great! Now it’s time to figure out which channel/fader on the Airlite maps to this Windows audio device.
- Use the ‘On’ button (step 8) to turn off channels 5, 6 and 7 but leave the faders open. Channel 4 is now the only active channel.
- Select the first device in the list and send a test tone by right-clicking on the device and selecting ‘Test’. If you hear the tones, this device maps to channel 4 on the Airlite;
- If you didn’t hear the tones, test the second, third and possibly fourth device until you hear the test tone, to figure out which device corresponds to channel 4 on the Airlite.
Renaming the Airlite’s Playback Devices
To rename the device, right-click it and choose ‘Properties’ Change ‘Speakers’ to ‘AIRLITE CHANNEL 4’ and press ‘OK’.
Now repeat this step for channels 5, 6 and 7:
- Press the ‘On-switch’ above the channel 4 fader to deactivate channel 4;
- Press the ‘On-switch’ above channels 5 to activate channel 5;
- Test the next playback device(s) in Windows until you hear a sound;
You have now found channel 5. Rename the device to ‘AIRLITE CHANNEL 5’.
Now, deactivate channel 5, activate channel 6 and repeat the process until you’ve found and renamed channel 6. The last remaining device should obviously be channel 7. Once finished, your Playback devices should look like this.
In Conlusion
Each device is now easily identifiable, which makes setting up your playout software a breeze. In the next article, you’ll learn about the Airlite’s different audio output busses. What are they and how are they managed in Windows?
